Feb. 10 :: I’M NOT RUNNIN’!

IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU WIN BY AN INCH OR A MILE. WINNING’S WINNING
The Wings and Ducks tussle at the Joe, 7:30pm. The Wings will be going for their 19th win in a row on home ice — which would be one shy of the National Hockey League record.

BE READY TO HAVE YOUR ASS HANDED TO YOU
:: Detroit had a re-match with Edmonton on Wednesday, and came out 4-2 winners.
:: Anaheim needed overtime to drop the Hurricanes 3-2 on Wednesday.
:: This is the third of four meetings between the Wings and Ducks this season. The Wings have positively owned the Ducks this season, winning 5-0 in early November, and then 4-2 a few weeks later. Franzen, Zetterberg, Stuart, and Lidstrom each have two goals against Anaheim this season — Kronwall has the other.

TYPICAL WHITE BOY NAME
The Best Name Nominee is newcomer goaltender Iiro Tarkki. Don’t get much whiter than that.

EVEN THE COPS IN HOLLYWOOD ARE HOLLYWOOD
There are no former Red Wings in Anaheim.

BUSINESS DEAL WENT SOUR
Former Ducks Todd Bertuzzi, Drew Miller, and Mike Babcock now call Hockeytown home.

I LIVE MY LIFE A QUARTER MILE AT A TIME
Todd Bertuzzi :: Pavel Datsyuk :: Johan Franzen
Jiri Hudler :: Valtteri Filppula :: Henrik Zetterberg
Justin Abdelkader :: Darren Helm :: Drew Miller
Tomas Holmstrom :: Cory Emmerton :: Jan Mursak

Nicklas Lidstrom :: Ian White
Brad Stuart :: Niklas Kronwall
Jakub Kindl :: Jonathan Ericsson

Joey MacDonald
Ty Conklin

You Couldn’t Even Tow That Across the Finish Line
Patrick Eaves [jaw, LTIR]
Dan Cleary [knee]
Jimmy Howard [they call ’em fingers, but I never see ’em fing]
Mike Commodore

The TPL Name Game “Three Stars”
Just like last season, submit your nickname suggestions (follow the theme!), and we’ll use our Facebook page to allow people to vote for the best… the winner gets a free TPL t-shirt!
PETRELLA: Kyle “What Did You Put in that Sandwich” Wellwood
HOLLIS: Movin’
DISCH: Brendan “Typical White Boy Name” Smith
STEVIE: Todd “Sounds Like a Serial Killer” Bertuzzi

I GUESS I’LL HAVE TO KICK HIS ASS THEN…
:: One day after the Winter Classic announcement, the Red Wings will be riding some major hometown mojo into the Joe. Expect the fans to give the team a nice ovation in preparation for the outdoor classic that’s — oh — eleven short months away.
:: Joey MacDonald gets the start again in net, proving once again that confidence in Ty Conklin is at an all-time low, somewhere in the negative twenties.
:: The Ducks are looking more and more like they’ll be sellers at the deadline later this month. Even though they’ve gone 11-2-2 in their last fifteen, they find themselves sitting in 13th place in the West — seven points behind 12th and ten points out of a playoff spot. It’s rumored that Bobby Ryan and maybe even Ryan Getzlaf could be moved.
:: Henrik Zetterberg may have snapped his goal-scoring drought on Wednesday, but he’s still underperforming by Zetterbergian standards. He’s finding ways to contribute, but wouldn’t it be swell if we had more than one guy (Franzen) in the 20-goal range? Jiri Hudler (17), Valtteri Filppula (16), and Pavel Datsyuk (14) are next in line for the feat.
:: Tomas Holmstrom will be playing in his 1,000th game tonight. Probably feels twice that many to his lower spine.